BMW was today playing down reports that £50m worth of orders had been placed for the new Cowley-built Mini.
Mark Harrison, the media relations manager for the Mini, said that the figure, published in a national newspaper, had not been released by BMW and was based on predicted worldwide sales rather than actual orders.
But he said the new Mini, priced at £10,300, had attracted worldwide interest, which was expected to increase after it went on sale on July 7.
After the car's appearance at the Birmingham Motor Show in October last year, 15,000 orders were placed in Britain.
Mr Harrison said: "It is impossible to tell how many orders we will receive because dealership networks have not yet been set up."
The new Mini will be available in Europe from September and will go on sale to the rest of the world in early 2002. BMW, which employs 2,500 people at Cowley, hopes to take on 1,800 extra staff to cope with demand.
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